ROLE OF CYCLIC AMP IN THE ACTION OF ANTIDIURETIC HORMONE ON KIDNEY

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the role of cyclic AMP in the action of antidiuretic hormone on kidney. The initial steps in the action of ADH involve hormonal stimulation of cyclic AMP formation from ATP. An ADH receptor within the plasma membrane is assumed to be associated with adenylate cyclase, and the hormone–receptor interaction leads to an increase in cyclic AMP formation. There are few direct studies on the interaction of ADH with its renal receptor. Studies on the stimulation of renal medullary adenylate cyclase by vasopressin and its naturally occurring as well as artificial chemical analogs have indicated that the renal ADH receptor displays a high degree of specificity for this class of polypeptides and that renal medullary adenylate cyclase was always most sensitive to the naturally occurring variety of ADH. A marked parallelism has been found between the ability of ADH and its structural analogs to produce an antidiuretic effect in vivo and the dose of the hormone required for half maximal stimulation of renal medullary adenylate cyclase in vitro, but there was no close relationship to the maximal stimulatory capacity.